Before you take your next big idea and turn it into a reality, ask yourself these 50 questions. Use these questions to tweak and enhance your idea. Some questions will help you assess and alter the quality of your idea. Others will help you tailor the idea to you personal preferences.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should give you a jump start on the competition!

Idea Evaluation & Feasibility

1. What makes my idea different?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this idea?
3. What will my idea change (for the good and bad)?
4. With the state of current technology will this work?
5. What is this idea dependant on?
6. Can this idea be implemented in alternative ways?
7. Does this idea use commonly accepted standards?
8. Will this idea be accepted in the short term or long term?
9. Is this a match for me/my company? Does it fit with what I/we stand for?
10. Is this idea controversial?
11. What are possible criticisms of this idea?

Finances

12. How much will this cost?
13. How much are people willing people to pay?
14. How much do I want to make off this in the next year, 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years?
15. How long can I go without making anything from this idea?
16. Will I change the price over time?
17. Do I want to sell this idea?
18. Who will invest in this idea?
19. Why would someone invest in this idea?
20. What type of business model would aid the financial success of this idea?
21. What impact would a downswing or upswing in the economy have on my idea?

Future Thinking

22. What could change that would make this idea obsolete?
23. What is the approximate lifespan of this idea?
24. If this idea is only accepted in the long term, can I sustain long enough to get there?
25. If this is successful what could add or build on this idea?
26. What infrastructure do I need to have in place?
27. If this is successful what infrastructure will I need in the next two years?
28. Who will I need to hire in the next year, two years, and five years?
29. Do I want to sell this idea in the future?
30. What risks are involved in this idea?
31. What can I do to mitigate risks?
32. What constitutes the ultimate success of this idea?

Audience & Location

33. Who will use my idea and what are their characteristics?
34. Who won’t use my idea and what are their characteristics?
35. Why will someone want to use my idea?
36. How many customers are in my immediate target audience?
37. How many customers in my immediate target audience use my competition?
38. What other ideas are commonly accepted by my target audience?
39. Who will lead the way in telling other about this idea?
40. Who will be the first to buy or take part in this idea?
41. Where will this be used?
42. What are the location limitations?
43. What will need to change to make this idea work in other situations or places?

Competition

44. Has this been done before?
45. Does someone own a patent for this idea? Can I get a patent for this idea?
46. Who is my direct competition?
47. Who is my indirect competition?
48. Can I buyout one of my competitors to get a head start?
49. What makes my idea better then the competition?
50. If this idea grows will my competition change?

Spend some time thinking about each question and the implications it has for your idea.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2007 at 12:07 am and is filed under Innovation Resources, Innovation Tools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.